Hungry for Power and Recognition?

We seek recognition by getting better.  When do we need to get better?  You must have the thought that you were not good enough initially, that's why you felt the need to get better.  Whenever we want to improve ourselves, the motivation often originates from the assumption that “I am not good.  If I can get better, I won’t feel small and I will be seen.” (Suzhen Liu)

I had a break-through moment the other day after reading this insight from Suzhen Liu’s forthcoming book. I literally saw my entire life flashing before me at that moment. I realized that with a lot of hart work and chutzpah I had spent a couple of decades in the financial industry to get better and more respected every year, and I was just about to do the same in the spiritual community. What a waste of time and energy! It’s a mere mind-game fooling us to understand that we are already perfect here and now.

Understanding that the hunt for recognition is a mental treadmill we can never get off is an insight, a sudden shift. The mind finally grasps its own futility. Everyone can have this insight here and now. Getting of the treadmill of running after an elusive carrot dangling in front of us doesn’t mean that we have to become lazy. As a matter of fact, we gain enormous  energies by taking the winds out of the self-improvement sail-boat. Hope you can join me, drop that hunger for power and recognition and find them within.